Tag: Black Tea

Do you put milk in your tea?

Being English milk is the first thing I reach for when making my cup of tea… (except green tea, because that’s just nasty… take note Starbucks!)

Growing up in England in the 70’s most families added milk to their tea. We’ve always been a teapot house (rather than making it in the cup… peasants LOL) and we’d add milk to our cups and then the hot, brewed tea.

How milky you like your tea is up to you… depending on the tea, depends on how milky I like it.

White tea, just a touch, black tea…milk it up!

So I’m horrified that scientists now say that that drop of milk can completely negate all the benefits tea can have on our health.

How is that possible?

MY LIFE JUST ENDED!

Well not really, I mean I’ve always enjoyed tea because I just love to drink it, but at the back of my mind I always thought maybe I was doing myself some good!

APPARENTLY….

Tea has many active ingredients that affect our health. It is particularly rich in antioxidants and vitamins. It is found to improve our immune system, to control blood sugar levels, reduce damage to cells and prevent cardiovascular diseases. But, if you add milk to your tea, its beneficial effects on your vascular system go away.

How milk affects tea?

In a small study conducted on 16 healthy women, scientists compared the effects of tea on their vascular system, with tea, water and tea with milk. They found that tea relaxes blood vessels (improves flow-mediated dilation), but tea with milk does not.

Researchers believe that the most likely explanation is that the caseins, proteins found in milk, form complexes with catechins in tea, its most important flavonoids.

Interestingly, they found that proteins in soy milk have the same effect.

SO you crazy soy milk drinkers are not getting any better benefits…. phew!